Every Little Thing
by chlorineobsession
Summary: [Shikatema] A thirty Day Writing Challenge I found online. Pretty existential, but some sweet light-hearted moments too! Shikamaru X Temari (And a lil bit of Shikadai!) *Don't own Naruto*
1. Things We Carry

**Things We Carry**

She was doing it again.

The thing where she would zone out, staring blankly ahead of her saying nothing.

Doing nothing.

Her eyes were set on the doorframe this time, it was as though she were dissecting the cracks and scratches that covered the paintwork of the entryway that led to the dining room.

Shikamaru knew better than to speak to her when Temari was in one of those moods.

He could only guess at what was going through her complicated mind.

Though he had a feeling his guesses were reasonably accurate.

She was thinking of life. Life in general.

The meaning of it.

The reason for it.

Her experience with it.

All the little puzzle pieces assembled themselves in that beautiful mind of hers and absorbed all of her attention, turning it towards them.

And so she stared.

Stared and remembered all the flaws of the universe and the lack of meaning that everything and anything held.

The lack of beauty in her childhood. In her imperfect existence.

The weight of the world which she carried for her family and the responsibility she would proudly bear for the actions that she was frowned upon for carrying out.

She carried many things, but when she was in those moods, the weight of them doubled and dragged her down to the darkest of depths.

So Shikamaru would wait for her to emerge from her pool of thoughts before boiling the kettle to make her some tea and sitting beside her.

One way or another, he'd convince her that he was there for her, and he would always carry half the load.

But for now, he simply had to wait for her to fix those broken parts of herself.

* * *

 **A/N: Heyy! I was bored cos I have no more exams, so here's a 30 day writing challenge I saw online!**

 **I guess a lot of these will be dreary, but that's just what I feel most comfortable writing.**

 **Please follow/fave/review, I hope I'll get through all 30!**

 **~Lee :)**


	2. An Open Door

**An Open Door**

He was going to die.

No, he didn't know how or when.

He wasn't at his deathbed, nor was he ill.

Nara Shikamaru was just aware of the fact that at some point, the world would exist without him.

That his breaths would cease and his eyes will be closed.

That all those who know and love him will pass on as well, and that eventually, his gravestone would no longer hold any meaning to those who roamed the earth.

It was a fairly morbid thought process, but he found that he didn't mind it at all.

He had once given a girl his heart like a kid gives their parent a jar and asked her if she could open it for him.

She had answered: "Not without breaking it".

He said: "Go for it."

Because by that point in his life, he had seen things that many would find inappropriate even for nightmares.

He had fought in wars and escaped death.

He was willing to let his heart and mind be open doors for her to see straight through to his soul.

He knew that one day his body would just be a carcass, a hollow ribcage jutting from nothing, so why was he still holding back, saying nothing?

"Hearts don't really break," Temari said later. "They only stammer."

 _What are you waiting for?_ Was a question he asked himself a million times.

What was he waiting for?

There wasn't a clear sign to tell him _Go. Stop. Now._

In this world, the starting line is at the finish line. Flowers grow from death.

Wrong can always be right, so what was he waiting for?

And he was never one for lies, but he could be convincing if need be. Though he could never fool himself.

What was he waiting for?

If he set himself a deadline, by then he mightn't be able to carry out what he'd planned, so what on earth was he hesitating for?

What was he waiting for?

Stars weren't going to scribble answers in the night sky like claire-voyantes or fortune tellers.

So _what_ was he waiting for?

He'd bought the ring.

He was meeting her that night.

But fate had a funny way of punishing those who put things off. Those who hesitated.

The door didn't open when he knocked.

His heart was breaking- No, _stammering._

His heart was stammering against his ribs, his soon-hollow ribs and it meant nothing.

It meant nothing because he knew that he was going to die too.

He didn't know how or when.

It was funny, how for such a small word, "if" was such a hard thing to answer.

So it didn't mean anything, he told himself.

Nothing, nothing.

But of course, it did.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for all the reviews/follows/faves!**

 **Please keep 'em coming, they're great for my ego ;)**

 **Let's see if I manage to keep this up for 30 days!**

~Lee :)


	3. Faces In The Street

**Faces In The Street**

He passed her many times.

On the street, accompanied each time by a different man.

She would wave him over and introduce the new man to him.

Each one richer than the last.

The man would size him up with narrowed eyes.

He'd see the casual clothing. The lack of ornate pins and rings.

He'd see that Shikamaru was no threat.

What that man didn't know, was that Shikamaru would always be better than him.

Because he'd known Temari for longer.

He knew her name and face better than any of the men who tried to woe her.

And he would be there, long after she'd forgotten the rich man's existence.

Yes, of course he envied those who could wrap their arm around her waist or those who knew the taste of her lips.

But _they_ were not precious to her in the same way that he was.

No, _they_ were just tokens and stepping stones. _They_ were a way to get by.

And every time, she would greet him as an old friend.

That's all he ever was. All he ever will be.

An old friend.

Another face in the street.

* * *

 **A/N: Not exactly sad, but eh, I try my best o.O**

 **I should prolly start listening to happier music when I write these.**

 **Thank you all for all the support through reviews follows faces etc, lets get through these thirty days!**

 **Tell me if you have any plot ideas, cos my brain is a bit mushy atm.**

See y'all tomorrow!

~Lee


	4. Mirror

**Mirror**

There were days when the person in the mirror looked less like himself and more like a ghost of some kind.

When the years of stress and heart break he'd been subjected to since the young ages of eleven or twelve caught up to him and wrapped their menacing selves upon his face.

Laughing, teasing.

And he would say that it frightened him, but he reached a point when he just didn't care anymore.

He'd made it to thirty, a miracle considering his profession.

And he just didn't care anymore for anything.

Nothing mattered.

Everything just went wrong.

From the beginning he was doomed.

All he'd ever wanted was a simple life, a simple wife. Daughter, then son. A simple retirement and a simple death before his spouse.

What did he get?

A complicated life.

A Jounin rank-advisor to the Hokage as well.

A troublesome wife who was as far from simple as anyone could be- Beautiful, strong, intelligent.

Then there were the kids, or rather:

A son.

No daughter, not after the miscarriage had happened.

So he messed up there as well.

He was too young for the retirement and he somehow managed to outlive the one woman he ever truly loved.

What was there left to live for?

He stared back at his terrifying reflection as the question was answered for him through a knock on the bathroom door.

"Dada?" A voice called.

"Yes, Shikadai?" He answered softly, unlocking the door to see his four year old son gazing up at him with his mother's wide teal eyes.

"Why is Mama late?"

He picked up his son as he sat on the edge of his bathtub, sitting the four year old down on his lap.

"I wish I knew," he lied, allowing himself to cry. "I wish."

Seeing his moral compass and main source of comfort in tears, the toddler who was gazing intently at his father followed suit.

"King," Shikamaru said after a while.

The answer was his King.

As he left the bathroom to put the now-sleeping child into bed, he didn't look in the mirror.

He already had his answer.

* * *

 **A/N: Ayyy, I made it!**

 **I've been Christmas shopping for my friends all day, and I wasn't sure wether I'd be able to post this in time, but here I am! I wrote this on the bus this morning, I'm sorry if it's a little grim o.O**

 **please follow/fave and Revieweww!**

 **~Lee :)**


	5. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Whenever they fought - which wasn't _quite_ as often as one may think - the aftermath was always the same.

Temari would instinctively make her way towards the kitchen and pull out a pan, an action which her body was so used to after these eight years of marriage.

Onto the cooker it went, a dash of oil. Maybe some garlic if the fight was particularly bad.

And then came the crucial step.

The onions.

In comes the chopping board and the sharp, sharp knife.

Peel, chop.

And above all, she knew to take her time.

"I have sensitive eyes." She'd tell herself as she let tears roll down her cheek because her husband was upset or angry at her.

It was the onion and nothing else- she had to reassure herself somehow.

All of it was the onion.

And she knew what came next, but still she trembled and worried.

"What if this time..."

But it always does.

He always comes up behind her to wrap his strong arms (that were built for her and her alone) around her middle and kiss the back of her neck.

He knew not to look at her face when she was cooking onions.

She'd ignore the action for a moment as she put the now-chopped onions in the pan and heard them sizzle.

Allowing her tears to dry, she would turn in his arms and kiss him gently.

To say _sorry._

To say _thankyou._

And the onions would be left to cook off and caramelize, forgotten for the time being, because no one remembered the onions after they'd played their part.

In those moments, there was only each other.

* * *

 **A/N: heyyy I'm not posting these in the same order as they appeared on the list I took inspiration from, but I hope y'all don't mind!**

 **Here's a happier one, please let me know what you think!**

 **~Lee:)**


	6. Very Loud

**Very Loud**

He had learned not to give just for the sake of getting.

Not to speak until spoken to.

And above all, to never _ever_ underestimate the wrath of his wife.

"I HAVE TOLD YOU A MILLION GODDAMN TIMES NOT TO PUT THE GRANOLA ON THE THIRD SHELF!" She yelled, storming into the bedroom with a box of cereal swinging threateningly from her hand.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry Tem, I forgot."

"Forgot?" She laughed. " _Forgot_?! I've been asking you to put it on the top shelf for the past _two months_!"

He shrugged.

Her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Shikamaru..." She said threateningly. "For a genius, you sure as hell forget a lot of important details."

He shut his eyes and laid his head back on the pillow.

"Details are boring." He grumbled "Geniuses need to be kept stimulated."

At that, he felt a weight drop on his chest.

"How about this then," a voice huskily breathed into his ear before he felt Temari's teeth clamp around his earring and tug gently on it.

His eyes opened and his hands worked their way up from her thighs to her hips as she brought her lips to his and mumbled gently:

"If you put the fucking cereal on the wrong shelf again, _no sex for a month_."

Needless to say, the cereal was never found on any shelf but the top one ever again in the Nara household.

* * *

 **A/N He-Hey!**

 **Another nice one! (Haha, don't get used to it!)**

Lee


	7. This Road

**This Road**

She was drained.

The usually three day walk took her just over thirty hours, but the road had never seemed so long.

She'd feasted on military ration pills, and her body wasn't happy about that at all, but she couldn't care less.

"I need to see him." She said hurriedly to the lady at the reception.

She didn't ask who?

They all knew.

She was given a room number and a direction, and she wasted no time getting there.

"Lazy Ass!" She exclaimed as she pushed the door forcefully open, causing it to swing back on its hinges.

"Yes, woman?"

He was seated in the bed, looking at her with a quizzical expression.

She made her way towards him and sat by the side of the bed.

"I heard you were sent on a pretty tough mission."

"That would be correct."

"And you got pretty scratched up."

"Another fact."

"And you didn't cry?"

"Yes."

"Hnn."

"..."

"I got a pretty tough mission too."

"And?"

"Not a scratch."

"Hnn."

"..."

"So why are you here?" Shikamaru asked, casting her a sidelong look.

Temari looked away.

"I er, wanted to gloat."

"You came all this way to gloat?"

"Yup."

"You sure you weren't just worried?"

"Nope. Just gloating."

"Hmm, I'm sure." He said sarcastically.

"I want worried, sheesh." She mumbled, standing to leave.

"Why weren't you worried?"

"Because," Temari said simply. "I know you can take care of yourself."

She left the room, but not before giving him a swift peck on the cheek, leaving him more than just a little flustered.

If nothing else, causing him to blush was definitely something worth gloating over.

* * *

 **A/N: Woohoo! Still going strong! Almost 33.33333% there!**

 **Let me know what y'all think, see you guys tomorrow!**

 **~Lee;)**


	8. Forgotten

**Forgotten**

She was pissed off to put it mildly.

 _Very much_ pissed off.

So pissed off that had she no common sense, a devastating occurrence of mass deforestation would have taken place right there and then.

But she knew better than to uproot the trees that surrounded her all for the simple reason that he had forgotten.

It was her birthday for crying out loud! All she'd asked was for him to meet her at the gates. He hadn't even bothered showing up.

The Nara was _so_ going to feel her wrath.

She grumbled as she walked through the streets. Sure, she knew her way around, but that was no reason for him to forget to do his job.

And she was stupid enough to think they were friends.

Ha! Friends don't forget to meet each other after agreeing to.

She hurriedly went to see Tsunade to drop off the scroll from Gaara about their trade deals.

After a pitiful smile from the older blonde, she stomped towards her flat.

She came here often enough that she had her own small apartment. It made sense, considering she spent about half the year in Konoha these days and hotel bills were unnecessarily expensive.

She climbed to the third floor and dug through her small pouch for the keys that she hadn't forgotten to bring.

There was only one problem- when she put the key in the lock and turned it, it didn't move.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

She pulled the key out of the lock and glared at it, as though intimidating the piece of metal would make it become subordinate.

She pushed it into the lock and turned again, to no avail.

She considered kicking the door down but decided against it.

She tried once more for luck, holding onto the handle as she forcefully turned the key, but there was no click.

There was no click because as she turned the handle, she found that the door was already open.

She stepped into the apartment where all the curtains were closed for some reason.

Temari reached for the light switch.

"What the fu-?"

"SURPRISE!"

The moment the lights switched on, a group of people stood and smiled at her.

She awkwardly backed out of the apartment -it must have been the wrong one.

Wait, she knew these people...

"Happy birthday, Temari!" Ino called, running up to the confused and embarrassed sand Kunoichi and pulling her into the room where ten other people were waiting for her.

She looked around at the familiar faces and couldn't hold back the smile that was breaking out onto her lips.

"You guys..."

Bunting and confetti dangled from the ceiling and paper plates and cups coated the tables.

She looked around at the people who were gathered in her apartment: Sai, Naruto, Sakura, Tenten, Lee, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino.

Ino excitedly skipped to the kitchen and came back holding a cake with two candles on top.

"We didn't have enough candles, or rather _someone-_ " she glared at Kiba "-Forgot to bring the rest of them."

Kiba chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"She's hot enough without the fire," he said smoothly, causing Temari to guffaw.

"Right, I'm sure." She said sarcastically.

"Blow them out, Temari!"

She blew out the candles and took a good look at the cake, gasping when she saw that it was shaped like her tessen with the same beautiful design as her lethal weapon.

"Chouji baked it and Sai decorated it, isn't it lovely?!"

Temari was too shocked to speak so she simply nodded.

As they ate, she noticed how everyone had played a part in the party.

The Aburame boy was clearly the reason behind the butterflies which fluttered lazily around the room as they ate, Naruto must have brought the ramen, Sakura and Lee probably decorated the room together with Ino's careful organizing.

She could guess that Tenten had brought the drinks, seeing as she was excitedly offering everyone cocktails.

Hinata was apparently named "lookout" and was there to warn them of when Temari was arriving.

That just left...

"This was Shikamaru's idea, by the way." Ino said after a few too many drinks.

Temari turned to look at the dark haired boy with a shocked expression.

"N-no it wasn't." He stammered as heat rose in his face.

Temari couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah it was. You're the... You're the mastermind behind this!" Ino laughed, clapping excitedly.

Temari moved to sit beside the Nara and let herself hug him while she was sure no one was looking.

"Thanks lazy ass" she whispered before pulling away.

He said nothing as he awkwardly tried to conceal the smile that was making its way onto his face.

She looked at him quizzically before talking again. "Was it not troublesome?"

He shrugged.

"Sure it was, but I just didn't want you to think that you were forgotten."

* * *

 **A/N: Helllooooooo!**

 **What day are we on? 8? Wow!**

 **I'm quite busy with getting exam results/ rehearsals and Christmas shopping for my friends/family, but writing this has been a great distraction! I wrote this during a free physics class, so I guess it's quite happy cos I was surrounded by the awesome 10 people that make up my physics class.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews! I'm shocked that I'm actually averaging three reviews per chapter, that's crazy! You guys are awesome, considering the fact that these are posted 24 hours apart. Thank you so much to all the regular reviewers in particular!**

 **Please follow/fave/review!**

 **~Leeeeeee;)**


	9. Early Morning

**Early Morning**

It was morning again, and she woke and turned to her husband.

"I'm doing it today." She whispered before standing from the cold bed.

Even the floor was cold.

They walked together, side-by-side. As one.

It brought back memories from when they were young, except this time a small boy walked between them, chatting away to his mother.

"Where are we going Kaa-Chan?"

"We're going to see Yoshi- Oba san."

"Is she gonna mind me _again_?"

"Yeah, just for today, alright?"

Shikadai gave a serious nod and continued plodding along the path, carefully putting one foot in front of the other and avoiding all the cracks in the pavement.

Yoshino gave Temari a tight comforting hug before taking the now-tired Nara child from her arms.

She held her daughter-in-law at arms length and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeez.

"I'm proud of you."

Temari and Shikamaru walked in silence, but she noticed how he regularly turned to her with a small, proud smile playing on his lips.

"Stop it, Nara." She snapped as she walked into the Yamanaka florist.

Ino gave Temari the same reassuring smile that Yoshino had given her as she gently selected the three best sunflowers and wrapped them in a soft pale blue crepe paper packaging.

"I'm here for you, Tema," she said gently as she delicately placed the bouquet in the Sunan's arms.

"Thankyou," Temari croaked.

She passed by a few people who gave her that same knowing smile tinged with pride. Sorrow.

Shikamaru's smiles became sadder.

She turned into the cemetery. She knew the way, it was almost a new home to her.

Shikamaru sat down beside the grave as Temari laid the sunflowers down and skimmed her fingers across the name that was marked on it.

"Shikamaru?" She asked.

He nodded attentively, his features soft in the early morning light.

"Remember the story you said Asuma told you? About the king?"

Another nod.

"What would you do... If you lost your king?"

He said nothing and remained seated.

"Because I've not felt this lost in years. I had meaning before all of this happened and now... Now it's gone. All of it is gone. _You're_ gone."

She ignored the fact that she was crying. She'd accepted her weaknesses a long time ago.

Standing up and brushing the dirt off her Kimono, she looked him dead in the eye.

"Thank you. Thank you for being my king."

She didn't reach for him.

She turned and walked away, leaving him at his grave.

She didn't look back, it killed her too much to know that he wouldn't be there if she did.

* * *

 **A/N: Ayytt inspired by the song "King" by Lauren Aquilina-I'd recommend it to every single human being EVER.**

 **Thanks for the reviews, I got a few suggestions/recommendations so imma write those up!**

 **Please follow/fave/review!**

 **~Lee ;)**


	10. One Hundred Years

**One Hundred Years**

Patience was an underrated art form.

One which he had mastered.

 _Perfected_.

One hundred years was a long time.

And so, ignoring the rain that lashed down on him in such a way that it brought back tearful memories, he waited.

He could wait for hours, patiently thinking useless thoughts, watching useless sights or humming useless tunes.

He would wait for a hundred years and die a million deaths if he had to.

He would give it up and take it in.

He would do anything.

He would always chose her in a heartbeat.

And so he waited. In the rain. Outside the hospital.

Waited to hear the news.

If his hundred years could be spent with her.

* * *

 **A/N: Short and simple, eh?**

 **I haven't had much time to write today, I'm doing a lot of Beta Reading for people, it's awfully busy!**

 **Please follow/fave/review!**

 **Also, somebody asked me where I got the list of prompts, to answer that: I literally just looked up "30 day writing challenge" on google images :) if anyone would like the link for the actual list, please pm me and I can send it on to you.**

 **See you tomorrow!**

 **~Lee!**


	11. Supermarket

**Supermarket**

"Grab some milk, will ya?"

Shikamaru came back two seconds later and dropped the carton onto the trolley as Shikadai excitedly kicked at the metal and gurgled.

"Shikamaru, what the _fuck_ is that?" Temari asked, pointing to the object her husband had just placed in the cart.

"Cow juice," he said with a serious expression.

"Yes, I see that. Why did you get the semi skimmed crap?"

"It's healthier."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a pointed look.

"Since when do you care about health? You never exercise."

"I eat healthy, I don't _need_ exercise."

"You need _balance_. Go get the full fat milk."

He got the milk and grumbled as she sent him off again to get fish whilst she helped Shikadai to pick out his cereal.

He detoured to grab some sugar-free juice for himself.

As he placed the packaged mackerel into the trolley along with the juice, he turned to see Temari reaching for a box of granola from the top shelf.

He smirked as he watched her discreetly struggle. Though she was tall, the shelves in the supermarket were high enough to cause her to have to jump if she wanted to get the product without any help.

Since he was a short distance off, he allowed himself to chuckle, since she couldn't hear him from where he was.

Shikadai made a coughing noise from the trolley and Shikamaru turned to see him gnawing on a cardboard box of stationery.

He wrenched the box from his son's hand and turned back in time to see a man in his thirties make his way towards Temari and pass her down the box she'd been reaching for.

He saw her smile gratefully.

The other man said something which caused her to frown before hurriedly setting off in his direction.

"Walk," she urged under her breath as she linked her arm around Shikamaru's.

"What-?"

"Just walk," she hissed. "He asked me out for dinner. Do something couple-y so he goes away,"

Shikamaru pulled his arm out from her grip and wrapped it around her waist, tugging her in closer to him.

She glared at him and practically growled as he chuckled.

"This is what _normal_ couples do, Tem." He sighed, giving her a peck on the temple.

He could practically feel the murderous aura radiating from her.

" _We've_ never done this before," she grumbled.

"Well it may have escaped your notice, but we are _not_ a normal couple."

That made her relax and she leaned slightly into him.

"I guess no-" she looked inside the trolley and turned to face him. "You sneaky son of a bitch, is that _sugar-free_ juice?"

* * *

 **A/N: Helloooooooooo.**

 **Here is the link for anyone who wants the list that I took inspiration from: . /-6WGL14XVnDA/VRyn_qB2x8I/AAAAAAAACbE/XCZPs86Cdfc/s1600/30+day+writing+challenge+jpg+  .**

 **Thank you all for the reviews/follows and faves!**

 **See y'all tomorrow!**

 **~Leeeeeeeeeeee**


	12. Walk Away

**Walk Away**

She was walking with her boyfriend when something caught her eye.

She hurriedly tugged on the dark haired man's sleeve and steered him in the opposite direction.

No way was she going to go through that awkwardness...

o

He had been serenely enjoying a peaceful walk with his girlfriend when her eyes suddenly narrowed in something further up ahead before she gripped his arm and pulled on him to change direction.

He sighed and didn't ask what the problem was. That would have been troublesome.

o

They were calmly seated at the table when he turned to Temari and cleared his throat.

"So, what was the detour about this morning?"

"Nothing," Temari shrugged, hurriedly taking a mouthful of tea and glancing up at the man seated opposite her.

o

When Shikamaru asked her about it, his girlfriend simply avoided the question and said that it was nothing.

And he realised that he didn't actually care. He simply stood up and left the room.

He hadn't cared in a long time.

o

" _Temari. You know I love you, right?"_

 _"Sure I do."_

She shook her head. Shikamaru had said that years ago, she shouldn't expect to hear those words from anyone. Ever.

o

" _Shikamaru, look!" Temari gasped._

 _"Yes troublesome, the stars are beautiful." He had whispered as he held her closer to him, knowing full well that she was far nicer to look at._

He sighed and pushed those thoughts out of his mind. It was his own fault that those moments would never exist in his life again.

o

"Look. This... This isn't working. I just don't like you anymore."

She got up to leave.

She had never loved him.

o

"Shikamaru. Hey, Shikamaru! Are you even listening?!"

"Hn?"

His girlfriend sighed and ran her slim fingers through her messy blonde hair.

"Look. Do you even like me?"

He shrugged.

He didn't care. He hadn't cared in a long time.

o

She stormed out of the apartment and looked around - she knew it had been a mistake to date a guy she hardly liked!

She hurriedly walked toward the Yamanaka florists and swung the door open.

Ino was always the best person to talk to in times of need.

o

Ino. That's who he should talk to.

She would know what to do.

He pushed the door open causing a small bell to jingle. As he looked up, he saw two blondes at the counter.

Ino smiled at him, and the other turned to face him.

The universe froze.

o

It had been years since she'd been this close to him, and she instinctively stood up to leave.

She managed four steps before she felt his strong grip on her wrist.

"Stay. Please."

She winced at the contact. Not because it hurt physically, but because her heart was screaming at her to leave and get as far away from him as she could.

"Please."

She looked him in the eye and breathed a single syllable.

"Why?"

o

He couldn't let her walk away.

He'd done that once before, and he would have gladly traded a million lifetimes to change that decision.

"Because I love you, and I can't let you go. Not again."

He saw the hesitation etched upon her face as she turned it away from him.

"Shikamaru, you have a girlfri-"

"Not anymore."

"I don't think we-"

"We can. We can make this work."

"Shika-"

"We can."

She melted slightly, allowing her frozen heart to thaw, he felt her decision more than he saw it as she brought her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest.

"I hope we can."

He held her tightly and stroked her back comfortingly in the way she used to like.

He would never let her walk away.

It would kill him a thousand times more.

* * *

 **A/N: Ugh what a mess T_T**

 **Sorry about that-I hadn't much time today.**

 **Next one will be better, promise!**

 **~Lee T.T**


	13. Anywhere In The World

**Anywhere In The World**

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

Shikamaru looked up at his blonde teammate and shrugged.

"My bed."

The glare she aimed at him made him briskly change his answer.

"Anywhere where there are clouds. Kumogakure I suppose would make sense."

Ino smiled slyly at him and wiggled her eyebrows.

"You sure it isn't the wind that you'd prefer to-?"

"Ino, I've told you a million times- I don't like her!"

"You don't like who now?"

Shikamaru turned to see Temari after entering the BBQ shop with her usual tessen strapped to her back.

Her kimono was travel worn and she looked tired, but she was still wearing that signature smirk of hers as she walked towards their table.

"What are you doing here, you troublesome woman?"

"Nice to see you too, Lazy Ass. Yes, I had a pleasant trip, thank you for asking and no, it's okay, no need to be so polite in your greeting."

He rolled his eyes, to which she gave a stern but playful look.

"Ino knew I'd be in town so she invited me for lunch." She explained as she took the seat next to Shikamaru.

He sighed and glared at Ino.

It was just like her to invite someone to their weekly Barbecue lunch just to annoy him.

"Where's the other guy?" Temari asked, pulling out a menu and scanning it with her intense teal eyes.

"He has a date." Ino explained with a smile. "He's getting lunch at a nicer place with the lovely Karui from... Kumogakure."

She looked at Shikamaru and a smile suddenly broke out onto her face.

"Which is a pity for Shikamaru."

"Why's that?" He and Temari asked in unison.

"Aw, Shika. We all knew how much you liked her."

Temari smirked and placed a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Don't sweat it kid. You'll find someone else."

"Wha- I- no!" Shikamaru spluttered, staring at Temari helplessly before glaring at Ino, who gazed innocently back at him with her wide blue eyes.

Temari chuckled.

"Haha, he's even blushing aww."

"It isn't Karui that I like goddammit!"

"So you _do_ like someone?" Temari raised an eyebrow at him and leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms "Spill it."

"Why do _you_ care?" He grumbled, taking his eyes away from hers and turning to the grill.

"I'm just curious. I didn't think you were into girls to be honest."

"He even has a type." Ino interjected.

Shikamaru's head fell to the table in his exasperation. Without looking up at Ino, he flipped her off and grumbled "Shut up."

"No, go on. Tell me."

"He likes blondes." Ino said, "But not with super long hair. Shoulder length or shorter."

Temari raised an eyebrow again and cast him a sidelong look.

"And he isn't into super skinny girls either. Her likes them curvy... Substantial y'know?" Ino leered. "And they have to be smart."

Shikamaru groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"And he definitely has a thing for traditional clothing. Kimonos and the like."

Temari was practically laughing.

"I think I have a vague idea of who it might be. Wouldn't liking a foreign girl be... _troublesome_?"

"I don't have anyone I like." He moaned, lifting his head and meeting Temari's knowing gaze.

"Sure you do." She shrugged. "No harm in liking a hottie like S-"

"OKAY FINE I LIKE YOU." He growled, standing from his seat to leave.

"W-what?" Temari froze, staring at him as though he was insane.

"Don't play dumb, Temari. Even Ino knows that I like you. She's known for ages. I'd love to know how."

"I-Shikamaru... You like me?"

"Care to name another foreign short-haired blonde who wears Kimonos and who..."

She smirked as he struggled to phrase the next part.

"Who..."

"I was actually thinking Samui." Temari smirked.

"Who?"

"Karui's teammate. Blonde, busty, hot, intelligent, foreign. The whole package."

"Well if _you_ like her so much..." He grumbled, embarrassed by the fact that he just unnecessarily confessed to her.

Laughing, Temari wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"That's cute." She laughed, " but I don't date girls. Anymore." She added with a slight frown.

They continued eating, Shikamaru had to put up with Ino constantly nudging him under the table and mouthing ' make a move! '.

He ignored her.

"Temari?" Ino asked "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

Temari shrugged.

"I like here just fine,"

She stood up and dropped some money on the table.

"You coming?" She called over her shoulder to Shikamaru whose eyes widened as she spoke. "We have things to... Discuss."

That sly smirk was more than enough to get him off his feet in a heartbeat.

"Good luck!" Ino called as the door swung close behind them.

Shikamaru made a mental note to thank her later, troublesome as she was.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! I was decorating a Christmas cake and I am coated in icing sugar!**

 **I HAD to post this because I love Ino sososo much, and she is the most awesome person ever-she reminds me of a few of my friends, and I could totally see her pushing a relationship onto other people for their own good.**

 **Thankyou for all the support, even though I didn't like the last chapter at all, I got some really nice feedback, so thanks for that.**

 **Day... 13? Is it?**

 **Wow, go us!**

 **Please follow/ fave/ review, we're almost there!**

 **~Leeeeeeee!**

 **P.S. Has anyone else seen the new Star Wars? I LOVE IT SO MUCHHHH!**


	14. Out Of Control

**Out Of Control**

Her mind was reeling, everything was out of control. She was paying him to fix her, but all he did was spew nonsense phrases like: "People love you," and "Your life is precious."

What a waste of time, money and breath, if she'd wanted inspirational quotes, she knew how to use the internet.

"They love you," he was talking about her brothers, whom she knew were fidgeting and worrying in the café just outside the stuffy office.

Over and over, he'd say the words as though they offered some reassurance to her: "They love you,"

While his words didn't offend her and were there for comfort, she didn't care.

Words only go through if they're sharp.

0

"I'm changing shrink." She announced over dinner the next day.

Kankurō shrugged and Gaara avoided eye contact as always.

0

"Temari?" A kind faced lady asked, approaching her in the waiting area.

She stood and walked into the office.

"Hi," the man said as she sat down in a comfy padded chair opposite him.

"Hi."

"Talk to me. Why are you here?"

She rolled her eyes.

"It's in my file. Can't you read?"

"I am perfectly capable of reading. I asked you a question. Can't you answer?"

She already hated him.

"Night terrors, PTSD, aggressive tendencies." She listed. "Self harm, suicide attempts and just generally wanting to destroy the entirety of the human race."

He nodded and didn't take his dark eyes away from hers.

"That wasn't _quite_ the answer I was looking for." He said. "Why are you here?"

"Because I have issues," she snapped, she was serious getting annoyed at him now.

"Let me rephrase that." He said patiently. Oh he was _good_. "Why did you choose to come here? To seek professional help?"

"I want to get better?"

"What caused you to want that?"

She stood and leaned over the desk, feeling the skin on her wrists stretch and split as she did so, but not caring for it.

"Maybe I was just sick of being a total freak!" She yelled. "Maybe I want to wear t-shirts and not get weird looks for it. Maybe I want to sleep calmly at night. Maybe I want to get some sort of normalcy in my fucked up life!?"

He nodded.

"That's better, but not the entire truth. Give me one more reason."

"I don't want it to feel so difficult when I'm trying to get up in the mornings."

"Why don't you want that?"

"Because my brothers worry for me."

"Ah. An answer at last."

"All of them were answers ." She spat.

"Yes, but none I could work with." The dark haired man brought his hands together in a strange square-like shape and drew his eyes shut.

"Okay," he said after a long pause. "Tell me about your brothers."

"I thought we were here to fix me, not to talk about my brothers."

"Would you like me to repeat the question?"

She rolled her eyes and glanced around the office.

It was sparsely decorated for a psychotherapist's office, and now that she got a good look at the man himself, she found that he himself didn't look as well groomed and pampered as the many she'd seen before.

"You're not like the usual shrinks," she observed out loud.

"I don't think you want a normal shrink." He shrugged. "Unless you'd rather I babble about how you and your existence are beautiful for our hour session?"

She snorted. "I'll pass, thanks."

She remembered that he'd asked her a question.

"My brothers are... I love them." She said. "But if you tell them I told you that, I'll kill you."

He nodded and continued looking at her, waiting for an elaboration.

"Kankurō is a little shit. Gaara is a cutie." She shrugged. "They mean the world to me."

"Okay. How much is that?"

"Er... The world?"

"Yes. How much is the world worth?"

"Don't do that." Temari snapped.

"Do what?" He asked, looking confused for the first time.

"That thing," she said, waving her arms. "The psych questions. I'm not answering stupid hypotheticals."

He shrugged.

"Okay. Let me talk for a moment then."

She nodded and leaned back in her chair.

"You say they mean the world to you, and that you love them?"

Another nod.

"Would you die for them?"

"In a heartbeat."

He paused and studied her determined expression for a moment.

"Have you ever considered that they'd do the same for you?"

"They..." She looked down at her hands. "No. I never have."

"How would you feel if you were to see scars on their wrists?"

"I-"

"If you woke up every morning with a Sinkhole of worry in the pit of your stomach because you don't know wether your sibling made it through the night?"

"Well-"

"If you were afraid to say too many words in case they were your last to them, and they didn't hold enough meaning?"

"..." She didn't meet his eyes as tonne after tonne of guilt was being laid on her.

"How would it feel, Temari?"

"... Horrible."

"You love them?"

"A lot."

"Well then." He stood and rubbed his hands together. "Our session is over. Come back if you want to talk again."

She stood and wiped her sweating hands off her trousers.

"Thankyou," she mumbled.

"Good bye, Temari. Stay safe."

As she left the office, she realised why it was so sparsely furnished.

He didn't make a huge profit from his clients. People wouldn't need a second session with him.

O

"Hey guys," she said to her brothers as she took a seat opposite them in the café.

"How was it?"

"I won't be going back to him for therapy." She shrugged, causing Kankurō to groan. "I think I'll be okay for a while."

* * *

 **A/N: Another rushed one, sorry!**

 **Therapy sucks, trust me- you don't need some over paid professional to tell you crap like "Omg u r so perfect". Just find someone who will tell you straight facts.**

 **I apologise for the lack of romance, this was just a "good advice AU".**

 **Again, rushed-I've been wrapping gifts for the past few hours as well as doing homework and all that.**

 **Please follow/ fave/ review!**

 **~Lee!**


	15. Small Things

**Small Things**

The first night of screaming was enough to make them think that they'd messed up as parents.

It began when Shikadai was only four years old, and Shikamaru and Temari both burst into his room dressed in robes and carrying whatever weapon had been kept close at hand that night- he held a plant pot while she held a novel.

What they saw was their son curled up in a tight ball with his hands covering his head and tears streaming down his face as he screamed incoherently at his thoughts.

"GET OUT!" He cried to whatever monster was attacking him in his mind. He was completely unaware of his parents' presence as he thrashed in his bed and kicked out.

Within a moment, they were both by his side, Temari hugging him and Shikamaru rubbing his back comfortingly.

When Shikadai awoke fifteen minutes later, he was trembling and sobbing-a complete blubbering mess.

"Dai, talk to us." Temari said softly. "What was wrong?"

"I d-don't know..." Dai cried. "I can't r-remember!"

Shikamaru got to his feet and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a small dim light.

He placed it on his son's bedside table and switched it on before getting to his knees and peering under the bed.

"Hey, you!" He said in his most authoritative voice. "Leave my son alone."

He stood up and walked to the closet, opening it swiftly and sticking his head in.

"If you act up again, I swear to god... I will tear. Shit. Up."

He turned to see his wife and child staring at him. Temari with confusion, Shikadai with pride.

"I'm going back to bed." He gave his son a pat on the head and kissed Temari gently on the temple. "Goodnight."

He turned back when he reached the door, giving his son a wide smile.

"If they come back, you know who to call."

Growing up, Shikadai often thought of that night, remembering it with great fondness, and though his night terrors disturbed him again, his parents had always been there to battle whatever monsters who had taken refuge in his mind.

They would always give him a torch and words of comfort. A pat on the head and a goodnight's kiss.

After all, it was the small things that counted.

* * *

 **A/N: Officially halfway through!**

 **Here's a happy one to celebrate! *Woohoo***

 **Only 15 more to go!**

 **Please follow/ fave/ review!**

 **~Leeee \\(^-^)/**


	16. Shoes

**Shoes**

"Take off your shoes as you come in,"

He muttered as they turned into the Nara compound.

"I do that anyway," Temari retorted.

"And be super polite."

"I always am." She snapped. "What are you looking at me like that for?"

He shook his head and wiped his hands on his trousers again.

They walked all the way up to the house he grew up in and he hesitantly knocked on the door, which opened only moments later.

"Shikamaru!" A dark haired woman beamed, upon peeking through the door. "And who might this lovely young lady be?"

Temari bowed politely, an art which she had mastered: Not so low and dramatic that it came across as mocking, and not so carelessly that it came across as dismissive.

"Sabaku no Temari," she introduced herself.

"Oh you're Temari?" Yoshino asked, an edge of excitement to her voice. "I was wondering when my lazy son would bring you home."

Shikamaru looked just as confused as Temari.

"Mom?" He asked, throwing a not-so-well hidden look of fear in her direction.

"Well now, Shikaku was right in his prediction, the girl who saved your pelt is the one you'll fall for." She smiled with a wink, stepping into the house and motioning for then to follow.

Shikamaru shook his head. "It isn't like that, we're colleagues. The hotel was out of rooms."

"Temari, would you like some tea?" Yoshino asked, pointedly ignoring him.

"I'd love some, thankyou very much, Nara-Sa-"

"None of that, Yoshino will do just fine. Why don't you follow Shikamaru there into the sitting room? I'll bring you out your tea in a moment."

She took a seat beside her friend and chuckled at his awkward expression.

"What?" He asked.

"You look as though you just strangled a puppy." She snickered. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll figure out that I have standards for myself."

He flipped her off with an annoyed expression on his face.

"I don't know why women have to be so damn troublesome all the time," he grumbled.

She rolled her eyes and leaned back into the couch before stretching her arms out in front of her.

"Why must men constantly think so highly of themselves?"

He smirked and rubbed the back of his neck. They fell into a comfortable silence, listening to Yoshino make tea in the kitchen.

"Your mother is nice," Temari said eventually, causing Shikamaru to snort.

He stopped himself quickly when he remembered Temari's family situation and he cleared his throat.

"She's troublesome."

"All the best people are," Temari shrugged.

"Maybe."

They left the rest of their words unsaid as Yoshino walked back in and snapped at Shikamaru over his bad posture before praising Temari on being "Oh-so-well-mannered".

The evening was calm, until Yoshino asked how long they'd been together.

Shikamaru stood up and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Minus forty minutes." He said before walking out to the garden for a smoke.

Yoshino and Temari exchanged confused looks, and when Shikamaru still didn't return after a half hour, Temari went to check on him.

"You alright?" She asked, poking her head out the door to find him leaning over a railing with a cigarette between his lips.

He nodded silently and motioned for her to come closer.

"The last time I spoke was thirty-two minutes and eleven seconds ago" he mumbled, to himself more than to her. "But I've never been one for unnecessary patience."

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple, shivering, she turned to him.

"Can you please speak in such a way that I understand you?"

He smirked and spoke again. "Three, two, one: Will you be my girlfriend?"

She suddenly realised what everything was about and had to laugh.

"Yes, you big dork. I'll be your girlfriend."

* * *

 **A/N: Nootedy noot, I thought this was cute!**

 **Please follow fave and/or review-I read all of them and sob internally because these stories are my only social interactions outside of school o.O**

 **~Lee**


	17. Nothing

**Nothing**

There was a tense silence at dinner that evening.

Not because of the low-cut dress that Temari wore, nor the awkward chattiness of the waiter as he regularly came over to ask how the food was, looking anywhere but at Temari's eyes.

Not even because of the fight they'd had that morning.

What made the silence tense and different from their usual silences was the fact that the silence was acknowledged.

Shikamaru sat up straight, oddly alert. Temari was surprised by the fact that he was attentively looking around the restaurant. And at her.

After dating the lazy ass for a fair few years, she knew that he wasn't the type to focus much on... Well, anything really.

"What's up?" She sighed eventually.

"What? Me? No." He stammered. "I'm not acting weird at all, you are!"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "... That's not what I asked."

He sighed. "It's nothing."

They finished their dinner without exchanging any more words.

 _Does he not like me anymore? Did I do something wrong?!_

 _Holy shit if that bastard is cheating on me..._

Shikamaru paid the bill and they walked back to her apartment in that same tense silence.

She unlocked the door and invited him in, an offer which she'd made countless times before. Biting his lip nervously, he nodded.

Temari pulled out a Shougi board to loosen him up, but to no avail.

He won the third game and she was about to pack it away when Shikamaru shook his head and finally spoke.

"One more."

She said nothing as they placed their pieces back on their respective squares.

She moved first.

"You okay?"

He countered.

"Yes."

She grimaced and tried another approach.

"You sure?"

Another easy counter.

"Positive."

They continued with a minimal exchange of words as their mini battle fiercely unraveled on the board between them.

She knew she was doomed as she only had three pieces left. She was about to pack the board away when he held up his hand and shook his head.

"Play till the end."

She grumbled but slid her piece forward.

With his final move he held the piece in his hand and made the same face he'd been making over dinner.

Hesitation, alertness, uncertainty, worry...

He finally put his piece down.

"I meant to do it over dinner but...there were people and all... I didn't want you to be embarrassed."

That was it. He was breaking up with her.

She wanted to laugh, cry, eat and break his face all at the same time.

"Check mate." He smirked.

She didn't know what to say. How to react.

If this had been any other guy, she'd have yanked his collar down so violently that his smirking face would have been pulled off of his hand and landed firmly on the table. Nose first.

"Well?" He asked, beginning to seem worried.

"I can't believe I fucking loved you."

His worry turned to confusion. "Tem?"

She shook her head and stood up, glancing down to see the game that she'd lost, only to find that the king was nowhere to be found.

"Shikamaru?" She looked up at him, only to find him smiling sheepishly at her.

"Yes, Othello?"

She pursed her lips together and shook her head.

"This is..." She looked back at the silky box which held a simply silver ring made of two delicate strands of the metal, twisted together. Simple and breathtaking all at once.

"Marry me?"

She nodded and said nothing.

She didn't need words.

* * *

 **A/N: Eh, not sure how I feel about this.**

 **The last one wasn't hugely popular, oops o.O I hope y'all like this one a lil more, I guess!**

 **Please follow/fave/review!**

 **~Lee \\(-_-)/**


	18. Home

**Home**

"...so yeah."

He stared at her.

"Shikamaru?"

Nothing.

"Hey!"

Blank.

She slammed her hand down on the table and stood up.

"Fuck this. I'm done."

She turned and stormed to her bedroom, grabbing her suitcase which she'd packed the night before.

"Temari?" She heard from the kitchen.

"Forget it. I'm going home." She stalked to the front door and gripped the handle firmly in her hand as she thought of what to say as a parting word, but nothing came, so she settled for silence.

Her knuckles were going white from holding the handle and she shook her head as she yanked it open.

"Fuck you." She spat.

"Apparently not."

She didn't even glare at him. He wasn't worth it. She was done with his laziness, his lack of motivation. Of effort.

For her. For himself.

"Fuck you." She was about to step out the door when felt a chill run down her spine and she found herself frozen, incapable of moving.

"Shikamaru." She said in a dangerously level voice. "Stop."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment before sighing and releasing his shadow's grip on her.

No words could describe the disappointment that she felt in that moment.

It really was over.

It was time to go home and start again with someone new.


	19. Things People Say

**Things People Say**

"They say that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

He glanced down at his girlfriend and raised his eyebrow. "Yes, that is a fact."

"But it's not very well phrased, is it?"

"Do explain."

She sat up from where she'd been lying down and crossed her legs.

"Well," she began. "I know you, right?"

He nodded.

"If you were to leave me at this precise moment-not that you would dare-I would still know you just as much as I do now."

"Okaaaay?"

"But if a few years were to pass, you move on and get yourself a nice little wife and maybe a kid or two-don't make that face at me-and I also move on and get an awesome boyfriend who loves me to the moon and ba-I'm joking, stop with the puppy eyes- and we bump in to each other in the street."

She paused for dramatic effect

"Then I think you'd agree that we wouldn't know each other very well at all."

He nodded as he considered her words.

"Therefore," she proceeded. "They should really be saying that one doesn't truly _appreciate_ what one has until it's gone."

He smiled. "Does that mean I should make the most of having you before you leave me for a guy who loves you to the moon and back?"

"Does that mean you _don't_ love me to the moon and back?"

"Eh. I love you to the convenience store and back."

Temari was secretly amused by his lack of open affection, but pulled an offended face.

"And why is that?" She asked, hiding a sly smile.

"The moon is so far away from you. I don't want to be that far from you." He shrugged. "Besides, I can buy you chestnuts in the convenience store, that wouldn't happen on the moon."

She laughed and smacked his arm playfully.

"The moon is too troublesome to get to as well I'll bet." She smirked.

"Yeah, that too." He shrugged.

She sat back down and lay her head down in his lap so that he could play with her hair as he seemed to enjoy doing.

"I appreciate you, Shikamaru." She said eventually.

"You too, Tem. You're bearable."

She grinned at him. "Just bearable, huh?"

"Yup."

"Guess who's getting none tonight?" She asked, she knew how to ruffle his feathers.

"And clever, and intelligent, and pretty, and strong, and-"

"Shikamaru." She held up her hand. "It was a joke."

* * *

 **A/N: IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE!**

 **I thought this was fairly cute as I was writing it-I'll try make tomorrow's one happy too!**

 **If for whatever reason I manage to spontaneously pass away during the night, I hope you all have a really lovely Christmas -even if you ain't christian, cos I sure as hell ain't religious, but Christmas is still a time for happiness, friends and good food.**

 **Please follow/fave/review!**

 **~Lee!**


	20. Remember

**Remember**

He remembered her first Christmas in Konoha. They'd been working on the upcoming Chuunin exams when he looked up from his folder to see that Temari wasn't looking at her work at all.

Her eyes were fixed on the window, or rather- _beyond_ the window.

He observed her momentarily as her expression remained emotionless, but he saw a glint in her eyes that hadn't been there before.

"It's snowing," she said simply after a while.

"Is that so?" He glanced up at her again as she forced herself to tear her gaze from the window and turn back to her work.

He remembered the second time she was in Konoha at Christmas, four years after the first.

They could be considered good friends at that point. He enjoyed her company a lot.

Much like her first Christmas, he looked up to see her gazing out the window, but he let his eyes linger on her as he saw that look in her eye again. Longing, curiosity. Sorrow.

He put his pen down and watched her as her eyes wandered across the view.

"It's snowing." She observed after ten minutes of watching it. He quickly looked away from her as she turned back to her work with a sigh feathering from her lips.

He couldn't help but glance up at her more times during their job. More than once, he saw that her eyes were on the window.

On her third Christmas in Konoha, he was quite aware of the fact that he thought of Temari as more than just a colleague or a friend.

When he looked up for what was possibly the hundredth time that hour, he finally found her staring out the window.

"Is it snowing?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Do you... Want to go outside?"

She looked at him with her eyes full of disbelieving wonder for a moment before shaking her head.

"We have work to do."

Shikamaru set his pen down. "Work can wait."

He caught a glimpse of a smile flit across her face as she got to her feet. "Alright."

They wandered the streets for a few hours.

"I saw snow _once_ as a kid." She said as they strolled through a market. "On a mission. It was the first time I saw someone get killed, the snow went red and it fluttered down around us like ashes. I never thought I'd ever find snow so pretty."

They headed back towards her apartment where they'd been working from. It was a quieter part of town, and it had grown cold enough for children to have run home for a hot drink.

They passed by three nondescript snowmen who hadn't been decorated, they were simply rolled up on the side of the path and left there.

As Shikamaru continued walking, he became aware that there wasn't a second pair of footsteps following his. He turned to see Temari standing in front of the snowmen and looking at them. After a moment, she took a small twig from the ground and wrote the kanji for love on the forehead of the smallest one.

On the second one, she put two clumps of snow on the top of its head, shaping it into a cat ear shape.

She stood at the third one and frowned.

Hesitantly, she brought a large handful of snow and began trying to sculpt it into...

"My hair isn't that big," Shikamaru said conversationally as he moved to stand beside her.

"Shut it. The fact that I'm trying should be enough."

He watched silently as she struggled to defy gravity with the "hair"on the snowman.

"We should head back." Shikamaru said eventually.

Temari nodded and was about to turn away when she suddenly unraveled her purple scarf from around her neck to place it on the smallest snowman, a soft smile played on her lips as she chuckled. "Gaara looks cold."

They continued their walk and after a few minutes, Shikamaru heard Temari sneeze.

Wordlessly, he unwrapped half of his scarf to bring it around her neck. They had to stand slightly closer together, but neither of them minded.

 _Maybe next year,_ Shikamaru thought, _we'll be more than just friends_.

* * *

 **A/N: Happy Christmas! Even if y'all don't celebrate Christmas, have an awesome day!**

 **Here's a cute lil one, please let me know what you think!**

 **~Lee \\(^-^)/**


	21. What I Wrote

**What I Wrote**

It was another dull day at the office.

Temari leaned back on her chair and sighed at the ever-replenishing pile of paperwork which was stacked on her desk.

Working in a twenty storey building, she expected to have a lovely view of Konoha, instead, she was in a badly air-conditioned office with one other person and all she could see from her window were apartment complexes and more offices.

She squinted at the page on the top of the infernal pile of hell and saw that it was simply an advertisement for memory foam insoles for shoes.

Her colleague, Matsuri was on"sick leave" (which was _suspiciously_ timed for the hottest week of the year) and so she made the most of being alone in the office.

She folded the page into a paper plane and tossed it into the recycling bin from where she was seated.

She saw the the next sheet was just another advertisement, so she folded that one as well before aiming it at the bin and surprising herself once again with the accuracy of the throw.

After disposing of one tenth of the pile, she got bored of paper planes and took to origami, folding each useless page into a delicate crane or swan. Whatever came to mind.

After running out of birds, she was well and truly bored, and even though the window was wide open, she was roasting. There wasn't a breeze to speak of and she grumpily glared at the sky, urging it to form some clouds or to start raining fish or.. _. Anything._

Her eyes settled on the building right opposite hers. In the window facing her own, she saw a guy, who was probably just as bored as her, sleeping with his head tucked into his arms.

Suddenly energised, she took a page from her stack and folded it into a plane before grabbing a pen and scribbling down a few words: _"sleeping on the job?"._

She launched the plane from her window, expecting it to land neatly on his desk, but it didn't even come close to his window, instead going too far left and dropping to the street only halfway between the two buildings.

She huffed and tried again, taking a page and skillfully folding it before aiming, more carefully, and throwing. She missed again but managed to get it a lot closer.

"One more time."

The buildings weren't exactly far from each other, only about thirty feet in distance, so she didn't know why she was so off-target.

After scribbling the message a final time, she threw it, aiming slightly to the left of his window, and watched as it glided perfectly towards him before settling right beside his hand.

The man flinched and sat up, looking down to see the plane. She looked on as he frowned and unfolded the plane to read the message. He glanced around his office with a confused expression before narrowing his eyes and looking out the window, his gaze almost instantly settling on her.

She gave him a friendly wave, to which he rolled his eyes.

He took a leaf of paper and wrote a few words on it before folding it up and launching it out the window.

It missed. She laughed and was glad that he hadn't seen her previous attempts.

He scowled and tried again.

And again.

Just like with her, the third plane reached its destination and flew through her window.

 _"Not anymore_ ," it said.

She smirked and reached for a page. The afternoon was panning out quite well.

" _Tut tut_ ," she wrote. " _Not very responsible now, are we_?"

Her plane reached his waiting desk on the first attempt and he soon sent a reply.

" _Apparently not_."

" _Have you much to do_?" She asked.

" _A lot. It's a drag._ "

" _Same. Sleeping won't get it done though_."

He glared at her when he read that one and took his sweet time to answer.

" _Neither would wasting paper_."

" _Meh. Recycle what I send you_."

" _How troublesome._ "

She didn't know what to say to that, so she changed topic.

" _When's your break_?"

" _Why do you ask? See something you like_?"

" _Oh please_" she wrote, emphasising the words to show that she was being sarcastic." _I have standards for myself_."

" _Yes. But you also chose to talk to me. I admit I'm creeped out_."

" _Get over yourself. If I wanted to hit on someone, I would have chosen someone hot_."

" _I'm offended! I'm plenty hot- it's like, 100 degrees._ "

" _If that's the case, a decaying corpse would be hot._ "

She was about to send the plane when she heard someone coming down the corridor. She hurriedly stuffed the plane into her drawer and pretended to look busy as her colleague, Kiba, strolled in.

"Hey, Temari." He said as he leaned over her desk and grinned at her. "Wanna grab a coffee at your lunch break?"

"Ah, sorry," she laughed. "I already have plans with my friend,"

He looked mildly disappointed but shrugged it off with a coy smile.

"Alright, see you around then. Maybe some other time?"

"Er-yeah. Maybe."

Kiba was about to leave when his gaze narrowed in something outside the window.

He turned and left the room, calling gently over his shoulder as he walked.

"I think someone's looking in on you. Be careful."

She bid him goodbye and was about to reach into the drawer to send the plane to the other boy when she saw one making its way towards her from him.

" _Was that your boyfriend_?" It read.

" _No_." She snorted. " _Why, were you getting jealous_?"

He read the plane and shook his head, she watched as he flipped her off from the other building.

" _I have standards for myself_." He sent.

" _Sure. He just asked me to lunch_."

" _What did you say?_ "

" _Why do you care?_ "

" _Small talk. You don't have to answer me_."

She read over the message and considered not answering but she was actually enjoying this.

" _I said no. I told him I was having lunch with a friend._ "

" _Are you?_ "

" _... No_."

She saw him laugh as he read the plane before turning to the window and leaning slightly out of it.

"I can help." He called.

Hearing his voice stirred something in her and she found herself laughing as well.

"Sure," she called back. "See you in ten minutes."

She looked at the planes that had gathered on her desk and sighed to herself as she wondered what he thought of her.

"I can't even remember half of what I wrote." She mumbled to herself before packing up to go for lunch.

They hadn't agreed on anything, but they were only one road apart, so she leaned out the window once more and called to him.

"I'll meet you half way!"

* * *

 **A/N: Hey!**

 **Only 9 more after this! I actually had an idea to write this kind of scenario as a longer story, but I think it works quite well on its own as a one shot!**

 **Thank you for all the love and support, we're almost there! Haven't missed a day (yet)!**

 **Please follow/fave/review!**

 **Lee \\(^-^)/**


	22. If

**If**

 _Dublin 1916, day 5._

He cursed as he ducked down behind the brick ledge of the roof, fumbling briefly with the ammunition of his rifle.

He was devoted to his country, and the fight for Irish independence was one that he would give his life for, but he was a part of the British army and it was his duty to end the rebellion before it blew out of proportion.

It had been days since he'd been home.  
He hasn't even told Temari that he was involved in ending the rebellion. His wife had been acting strangely, leaving the house more often and seeming more tired.

Her most recent antic had been cutting her blonde hair short.

Most of those on his squad had been wiped out on the other side of town, near the rebel headquarters. He was alone with someone on the opposite roof.

He briefly wondered wether he'd ever see his wife and son ever again.

If he died, how would they make do?

Married women couldn't have a job, and Temari had no father to support her financially. He couldn't bear the thought of her taking to the streets-be it to beg or to sell herself.

He loaded his weapon and in one brief action, pointed it directly at his opponent on the other roof and fired before ducking back down.

He counted twelve heartbeats of silence and decided to stand again to see if he'd taken down the opponent. Seeing that there was no movement from the roof he moved to climb down the building. He'd had enough, he was going home.

Once he was all the way down, he climbed the opposite building. It was only fair to close the poor soul's eyes. They were fighting for a just cause after all.

As he reached the roof, he found the body and briefly wondered if the crumpled figure was someone he knew. Maybe someone he'd gone to school with, or a neighbour.

He made his way towards them and turned them over only to find that it wasn't a neighbour.

Or someone he'd gone to school with.

He looked down to see the face of his wife.

* * *

 **A/N: *PLEASE READ ME***

 **Okay, so this may not have made a huge amount of sense to... Most people tbh, but as someone who was brought up in Ireland, the 1916 rebellion is a pretty big deal to me. Basically, Ireland was under British rule and we weren't exactly happy with not having a say in the running of our own country. The rebellion was very personal to a lot of people, and there were a lot of cases of "brother against brother" fighting as opinion was very much torn. As well as this, there were a lot of women fighting during the rebellion, in fact one of the leaders was female and was later elected to parliament, though she refused to take her seat.**

 **If any of you are interested in history, or just seriously bored, I suggest you look ot up, it's truly fascinating! I just really wanted to try writing something a bit different and personal I guess.**

 **Please follow/fave / review!**

 **~ Lee (^-^)**


	23. Stars

**Stars**

He sighed as he reached his locker to find it open. Again.

His jacket was gone and his physics folder was missing.

Great.

"Nara, you alright?"

He slammed the locker shut and turned to see one of his classmates making her way towards him.

"Matsuri, yes. I'm fine."

She nodded and glanced at his locker briefly before standing a little closer to him.

"The club meeting has been moved to the roof at lunch. Uzumaki let off a stink bomb a few doors down from our room and the smell of vomit can be sensed in a mile radius from where he let it off."

He nodded and she left. That was the most amount of words he'd ever heard her say in one go.

Sighing, he wondered why it was that he'd agreed to join the stupid club in the first place. He'd been nagged into it, that was for sure, but getting kicked out of school for "lack of extracurricular participation" sounded a hell of a lot better than making the effort to go to club meetings.

As he walked to the roof, he passed the sneering faces of his class mates and he couldn't help but wonder which one (or ones) it was that had taken things from his locker this time. Idiots tend to move in a pack.

The roof was isolated. Typical, he'd hauled his ass up five flights of stairs for nothing. He was about to leave when he found a note pinned to the door with his name on it.

"Time change!" It read. "After school!-T"

He scrunched up the piece of paper and was about to toss it in the nearest bin. That hadn't been Matsuri's writing.

Come to think of it-Matsuri wasn't even in the same club as him anymore, she'd changed a few weeks ago...

He shrugged it off, Temari had probably just sent her to pass on the message.

 _Temari_...

He unfolded the page and stuffed it in his pocket.

The only other people in the Astrology club were Hana, Yukata and Temari, three unbelievably troublesome women.

When the final bell rang, Shikamaru made his way back towards the roof to check if the meeting was on or not. Once more, he found it to be completely isolated. He grumbled and was about to storm back downstairs only to find that the door was being blocked by a fairly muscular senior with a smirk that spelled trouble.

"Hidan," Shikamaru said simply.

In a single move, Hidan was holding Shikamaru by the collar and had him pushed against the wall.

It was dark out, which made sense for mid-December, and Hidan brought his face close to Shikamaru's and practically spat at him.

"Heard you've been getting all close to Sabaku, that right?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "If by 'close' you mean I've spoken to her a few times, then yes. Otherwise-No."

"Don't get smart with me, kid."

"My intelligence is my most treasured trait."

He regretted talking back to Hidan as the wind was knocked out of him when the older guy slammed him against the wall again.

"Listen here, star-boy. If you mess with that chick, I will fuck you up. Got it?"

Shikamaru nodded, absent-mindedly wondering what it would be like to be close with the Club leader. She was troublesome, sure, but also sharp witted, clever, astute and undeniably attractive.

Oh who was he kidding, he'd thought about being close to her in a number of occasions before.

Hidan let him go and began waking towards the exit.

"Sabaku is mine, got it?"

"Who is who's, now?" Came a voice from behind Hidan.

Temari wandered onto the roof and gave the two of them a pointed look.

"Hidan. If you're still on about that three day relationship, knock it off." She turned to the shaken-looking Shikamaru. "You alright?"

He instantly straightened himself out. "Yeah. Fine."

She gave him a brief not before turning back to Hidan. "Piss off," she said simply.

After he'd slunk away, she walked over to her junior and threw one of her arms over his shoulder.

"You weren't at the club meeting today, Nara,"

"Yes. I'm aware." He said awkwardly, acutely aware of the fact that her chest was pressing into his shoulder.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Why weren't you there?"

"Long story. Guess someone was just playing a prank."

She let go of him and sat down on the ground, tilting her head up to look at his face.

"That sucks. The meeting was boring anyway. It's dumb to have an astronomy club during the day. Sit down."

He sat down beside her and looked up as well. Sure enough, the stars shone down on them and just for a moment, he forgot her and got lost in their twinkling.

As if reading his thoughts, she spoke up again.

"Stars don't really twinkle, you know. Their light is just dimmed as it passes through gas clouds and the like."

"You've crushed my childhood." He said blankly, making her chuckle.

"Shut up kid. Just learn, you missed out on a lot."

He closed his mouth and lay back on the ground.

"Okay. Teach me."

* * *

 **A/N: eh, as I predicted-the last one wasn't hugely popular o.O it was fun to write though!**

 **This one is (very loosely) based off a somewhat personal experience!**

 **Stars are rad-I guess. My physics teacher crushed our dreams when she told us stars didn't twinkle, I think I cried a little:(**

 **Please follow/fave/review! I might make a part 2 to this one if you want, so please let me know!**

 **~Lee;)**


	24. Too Many

**Too Many**

"Have you ever tried to count them?" Temari asked.

"Huh?"

"The stars. Have you ever tried to count them?"

The dark haired boy looked at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Of course not. There are too many."

"Fair enough."

The ground was uncomfortable and she was cold. Her brothers were probably expecting her home, but she didn't care. She liked it on the roof. Shrouded in darkness with pockets of stars etched into the night sky.

With him, the odd kid who only joined her club because they were low on members and he had to join a club.

She scooted in slightly closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm cold." She grumbled, resulting in him awkwardly wrapping his arm around her and mumbling something along the lines of 'troublesome'.

She could feel his heart rate increase as she snaked her arm around him too. She couldn't count the beats-there were too many.

"Why's your heart going so fast?" She asked.

"It-it isn't,"he stammered. Even in the dark, Temari could make out the faint rosiness that had made its way to his cheeks.

"Shikamaru. Calm down, you're flustered." She laughed.

"N-no." He gulped. "I'm not."

"You're blushing."

"I'm not."

"Yes. You are. Blushing happens when you get hot and flustered because your blood vessels move closer to the surface of your flesh to cool down." Temari sighed. "You have no reason to be embarrassed or flustered, so chill."

"I'm not, okay?"

She shrugged. "I wouldn't mind, but you should at least have an excuse for-"

She sat away from him. "Okay, why is your heart beating that fast?!"

"I think you're overreacting, Temari."

She smirked. "Yeah, I was just annoying you."

He seemed to calm down a little.

She stood up. "I'm going home. Don't stay out here too late, okay? "

"Bye," he called.

Impulsively, she knelt back down and pulled him closer to her by the collar, giving him a brief kiss.

" _That's_ a good enough reason to let your heart go that fast." She whispered before leaving him to his thoughts.

* * *

 **A/N: Eh, a little cringy but whatever-here's a little continuation from yesterday's one, Stars. I hopedyhope y'all like it, I kinda gagged from the cringe in the last line, so idk if I like it all that much, but I guess it gives a little more closure?**

 **I hope you liked it, thank you all for the follows faces and reviews- they make me super happy!**

 **~Lee~(˘▾˘~)**


	25. Warning

**Warning**

The branches bent lightly beneath them as they moved. Step after step, he watched Temari's back ahead of him and wondered, silently of course, what it would be like to hold her.

"Turn right in thirty paces."

Shikamaru saw her nod curtly ahead of him and veer to the right a short while later.

Following her, he looked at Temari as she moved, he could see the muscles in her legs flex as she jumped from branch to branch and her arms relax as she leapt into the air in preparation to balance herself upon her landing.

Her expression was serious as always, a deadly glare in place, along with a knowing smirk. The rogue nin that they were up against hadn't a chance-Shikamaru and Temari were an unbeatable duo.

"They're close by," Pakun grumbled from behind him.

With another nod, Temari came to a halt on a branch, crouched down with a hand reaching for her tessen.

"How far?" Temari asked as she unclipped the lethal weapon from its holder and opening a single branch from it.

"A half mile. They're heading in this exact direction."

She wore a determined expression, and stared at the foliage around her as she waited for any sign of an enemy.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru grinned, knowing that she'd get annoyed at him for his lazy demeanour on a mission. "They can't even show up on time."

She rolled her eyes at him but didn't make eye contact.

"Stay focused." She growled in an authoritative tone. "We can't afford to let them get away. I'm warning you, if a single thing goes wrong..."

She trailed off as they heard a branch snap behind them.

They turned to face their opponent, both smirking proudly.

After all, They were an unbeatable duo.

* * *

 **A/N: Ughhhhh I was cringing so badly after yesterday's one so I actually just scrapped the last paragraph before my sanity could stab me o.O**

 **Here's a more chill one. Idk, I totally dig these two kicking ass together-far better than soppy shit in my humble opinion, please let me know whatcha think!**

 **~Lee ◔ ⌣ ◔**


	26. Everybody

**Everybody**

"TEMARIIIIIIIII! YOU MADE IT!"

Ino excitedly hugged her friend before ushering her into the sitting room where the rest of the guests were seated.

"Hello!" Temari greeted waving awkwardly as she stepped inside. She handed Ino a bottle of Sunan Sake which she'd brought with her.

"Naruto," she said, walking up to the blond who had his arm wrapped around Hinata. "This is from Gaara."

She gave him a small parcel which he unwrapped excitedly.

He laughed when he saw the small key ring which read "#2 Kage".

"Thanks, Temari." He chuckled. "I have something for him too, could you bring it back for me?"

"Sure thing,"

After a few more people arrived, the group settled into a comfortable atmosphere. Ino was excitedly talking to Sakura and Sasuke about her new kitchen surfaces which Sai had remodeled during one of her spa trips. Sai nodded calmly along with his arm draped over her shoulder.

Temari and Tenten were talking about a new brand of kunai which claimed to be lighter, stronger and faster than any other while Chōji and Karui were speaking in hushed tones to Shikamaru.

Lee had let Ino know in advance that he would be late to the party as he and Kiba were training Akamaru some new trick to show Shino when he came back from his trip to the Grass Country.

"Lets play a game!" Ino suggested, making Shikamaru groan.

She glared at him and stood up to get shot glasses. "I'll take that as a'Yes'!"

Once the coffee table was filled with various different drinks, the group sat cross-legged around it.

"So, what are we playing?"

"Spin the bottle?" Someone suggested.

"Nah, too boring."

"Truth or dare?"

"Would you rather?"

"Who's more likely?"

"Never have I ever?"

"Two truths one lie?"

After twenty seconds of bickering, they settled on never have I ever.

"Okay, here are the rules." Ino said, standing and looking at everyone in turn.

"We go around to each person and they must say one thing that they've never done. If you _have_ done that thing, take a shot."

Mumbles of agreement went around the table.

"Here's the catch." She continued, holding up her hand for silence. "At each round, the person who's go it is chooses one person to... Explain themselves. Got it? No lying!"

She sat back down and leaned into Sai.

"I'll go first. Never have I ever... Tried whiskey."

Everyone took a shot except for Sakura and Sai.

"Karui. Explain yourself."

Karui shrugged. "Samui guilt tripped me into trying the old-man drink. It was actually pretty nice."

Sai smiled. "Never have I ever made a snowman."

Temari was the only one who didn't take a shot and Sakura was asked by Sai to talk about her snowman.

"U-um," Hinata stammered when it was her turn. "N-never have I ever... Kissed a girl."

Naruto, Sasuke, Temari, Sai, Shikamaru and Chōji all took a shot.

"Temari. Explain yourself."

Temari smirked, why were people only interested when _girls_ kissed other girls.

"My first crush was this really cute girl in Suna. She kissed me one day when I was around sixteen." She smiled sadly. "I think she died on a mission only a few months later."

There was a brief silence until Naruto took over. "This is boring-lets make it a little more interesting."

He shifted slightly and began talking.

"Never have I ever had a crush on one of my teachers."

Temari and Sakura both took a shot.

"S-Sakura?!"

"It was a two day thing... I thought he was cool..."

"Never have I ever...had a one night stand." Chōji said.

Temari and Shikamaru awkwardly took a shot whilst avoiding eye contact. Ino, Tenten and Sasuke also drank.

"...Shikamaru explain yourself."

Shikamaru gave Chōji a betrayed look.

"Er. I hooked up with someone and she was gone the next morning."

"We need more detail." Tenten whined.

"No. We don't." Temari interjected.

People started talking all at once.

"Okay, okay." Shikamaru sighed. "I brought this girl home. We were both drunk, it meant nothing. I didn't care when she'd left the next day."

Temari arched her eyebrow but said nothing.

It was Tenten's turn next, and she'd been carefully been looking between the two of them during much of the game.

"Never have I ever... Hooked up with someone who is in this room."

Everyone took a shot.

"Temari. She said with a sly smile. "Explain yourself."

"I've already explained myself before."

"So what? Explain yourself."

"I, er." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and cleared her throat before giving Shikamaru an apologetic look. "I hooked up with Shikamaru the last time before going back to Suna."

Ino squealed. "I _KNEW_ IT!"

Money was exchanged between people and Ino wouldn't stop squealing.

"Oi. We aren't together," Temari snapped. "It was a one time thing."

Silence filled the air.

"Wait, _you_ were the one night stand?" Naruto asked, finally putting two and two together.

Temari rolled her eyes. "No shit."

Ino frowned. "But... Why did you not like...?" She made a wide gesture with her arms. "Hit it off?"

"Well," Temari explained, leaning back as she cast the dark haired boy a sidelong glance. "I was in a rush to get home the next day and I was hoping to talk about it this time around, but as it turns out: ' it meant nothing '."

She stood and left them to find the bathroom, realising that she felt a lot angrier than she had in a while.

Meanwhile in the sitting room, Shikamaru was being stared at by everyone.

"Shika, you should definitely go talk to her."

"I probably shouldn't..."

Sakura scoffed. "Never have I ever upset the person I love. If I could avoid it."

Shikamaru downed a shot alone and stood from the table, slamming the glass down before following the direction that Temari had taken.

He found her lying in the guest bedroom and staring at the ceiling.

"Um. Hey." He called as he half-heartedly rapped his knuckles against the wooden door.

"Hey." She called back.

He sat at the foot of the bed and looked at her.

"I didn't want things to be awkward." He said.

"I know."

"Truth be told, I felt like shit when you weren't there the next day. I thought I'd done something wrong." He mumbled, resisting the urge to run his fingers through her hair. "I thought that was why you left."

"No. Gaara needed me back. That was it." She was seated now and finally meeting his gaze.

"It didn't mean nothing. Not to me anyway."

"Me neither."

She looked at him for a moment before standing up to shut the door.

"Are we going to talk about this?" She asked as she made her way back to the bed.

"Do we need to?"

"Well how else are we going to sort this out?"

He smirked at her and moved his arm to the curve of her waist before gently pulling her onto his lap.

"I can think of plenty of other ways."

"Shikamaru. They're going to-"

"They already know."

She rolled her eyes and dropped her head to the crook of his neck. "This is fucking troublesome." She grumbled.

He laughed out loud and lay down on the bed, pulling her down with him so that she was lying on his chest.

"I fail to see how that's an issue."

She smirked and propped her chin up to study his face. "Never thought I'd hear those words from you."

He cocked his head to the side and smiled. "There's a first time for everything."

She sighed and got off him.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" She asked as she opened the door. "I'm going back down, I don't want everyone to start thinking...things."

* * *

 **A/N: This ended up being a lot longer than intended, but I haven't got the time to change it, so meh.**

 **Please let me know what y'all think!**

 **Also, it's new years eve, so if I die or whatever during the course of the night, I hope you all have a wonderfully happy and healthy new year. Don't drink too much and stay in school kids. Or something, idk.**

 **Please follow/fave/review etc etc.**

 **~Lee(ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧**


	27. Impatience

**Impatience**

Temari was a woman of many regrets, not that she would _ever_ voice that thought out loud.

She came to a realisation about six years into her marriage with a man from a foreign land: She rushed too much and never once let any part of life pass her by, she was too impatient.

Some days, that knowledge made her feel terrible as she wondered where she would be had she taken things more slowly.

And then the other days would arrive and sweep away the negative thoughts.

Days like this, where she would be lying down on sun-warmed grass with Shikamaru by her side. It would smell of autumn and falling leaves and she could feel his heartbeat across the grass. Their fingers wouldn't touch, not yet, but they'd be so close that a single twitch would send static coursing through their bodies from a fleeting moment of contact.

Or, another strange moment, when she would be seated on the porch with her head resting in his lap. They'd listen to the rhythmic pattering of raindrops on the roof, the air would be thick and heavy with summer rain and everything would feel slow as thunder rumbles in the distance, humming gently. Almost lulling them into tranquil peace as he threads his fingers through her hair.

And then there were the nights where she would be woken by nightmares that would haunt her for the mistakes she'd made in the past, only to find that she was wrapped in his arms. He smelled of lemongrass, coffee and rain, a comfort to her.

In those few moments, she was patient and she let life do its thing. She had no reason to rush anymore: She'd reached her goal.

She wasn't perfect, neither was he, but she was damn glad that she didn't overthink all of her decisions, because by some miracle: She was happy.

She had him.

* * *

 **A/N: Something a little more down-to-earth. I was feeling a bit sentimental today I guess! I've been enjoying this writing challenge so much, maybe when I finish this one I'll focus on my other stories for a little while and then do another thing like this? I'll see I guess.**

 **Thank you for all the lovely reviews.**

 **Please let me know what you thinkkk!**

 **~Lee -_-**


	28. Wrong Way

**Wrong Way**

He was about to walk away when he felt her grip his shoulder.

"Shikamaru, you're going the wrong way."

He raised an eyebrow and turned to face her with a logical answer poised on the tip of his tongue, only to find the his words were blocked off by a pair of lips. Hesitating momentarily, he brought his hand to Temari's face and kissed her back.

It was undeniably new to him, and even though he had never kissed anyone before (except his mother when he was younger than six) he knew that what was happening was damn good.

She tasted of figs, peaches and summer and she smelled of spices and sunshine.

He vaguely wondered if she was enjoying this even half as much as he was, and if so-if they would ever stop because this moment was too freaking good to end.

He groaned out loud when she pulled away after only about ten seconds, making her laugh.

"We're in public," she chuckled. "Lets not get carried away."

"But there's no one else here," he moaned, wrapping his arm around her waist and pouting, which only made her laugh harder.

"Lets compromise." She said, with a devilish grin that could only mean trouble-not that Shikamaru minded at all. A troublesome compromise would be far better than walking home alone in the dark with his mind craving more.

"We can continue _if_ we head inside." She pointed over her shoulder to the apartment complex where her lodgings were. Without a second thought, he marched down the path with Temari's hand securely in his. Hearing her amused laugh only spurred him on.

O

"Other way, Tem."

"I-I knew that." Temari snapped, spinning on her heel and taking the right turn instead of the left.

"We're going to be late," Shikamaru said simply.

"Well maybe if you hadn't been _napping_!"

"Woman, it's fine. My mom knows I'm not punctual."

"Yeah, but I don't want to make a bad first impression," Temari said, a slight note of desperation creeping up in her tone.

"Tem. It's fine."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay."

O

"Er, we have a problem." Sakura said with a slight grimace.

Temari stared at her with crazed eyes.

"Tell me." She said, trying not to sound too desperate. Shikamaru held her shoulder in a comforting grip.

"It's the wrong way around."

"What? What do you mean?" She turned to look at Shikamaru, her voice sounding almost hysterical. "What does she mean?!"

"It means that it's going to have to be a caesarean section."

"W-will it be threatening to Temari?" Shikamaru asked after getting over the shock.

"Not if it's done properly, which it will be."

"Okay," Temari whined. "Just get this damn thing out of me!"

O

"Dai, hurry up!"

Shikadai rolled his eyes but made no effort to go any faster. "Mom, stop _rushing!_ So troublesome,"

"Ohoho no," Temari said sharply. "You are _not_ going down that route. Being lazy is the wrong way to live your life."

Shikadai sighed and mumbled something that sounded terribly like"what a drag."

Temari sighed and cuffed him over the ear, turning her head to hide a small smile that had made its way onto her face. He was so going to end up just like Shikamaru.

"Your poor future wife," Temari sighed.

"I'm not gonna have a wife. Girls are troublesome. And gross," he added as an afterthought.

Temari simply laughed. "Once you get home, tell your father those exact words and see what he says."

But, she thought eventually, his wife will be a damn happy woman.

She made a mental note to ask Yoshino how best to torment Shikadai when he brought home his first girlfriend.

* * *

 **A/N: Only 2 more after this! This is a bit messy, but eh. I wanted to throw in a bit more Shikadai cos he's my baby, I love him!**

 **Please follow/fave/review! We're almost there!**

 **~Leeeeee**


	29. Song

**Song**

"Four o'clock." Naruto hissed.

Shikamaru turned his head 120 degrees to the left and shrugged when he laid his eyes on a group of girls who had walked in. He vaguely recognised some of them from his classes, or others from parties which Ino had forced him to go to.

In fact, Ino was among them. She excitedly waved the boys to come over, which Shikamaru reluctantly did along with the rest of them.

"Hi boys!" She said happily, wrapping her arms around Sai's neck and leaning heavily on him with what could only be described as a smile of pure joy.

"For anyone who doesn't know anyone, allow me to introduce: Hinata, Sakura, Karui, Tenten, Temari," she pointed to each of them in turn, all of whom waved, smiled or cocked their head to the side as she mentioned them, except for the last one, who simply kept her head down and flipped the group off. Kiba laughed.

"I like her already!" He exclaimed. Ino glared at him then gave Temari a concerned look before introducing the boys.

"Chōji, Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji and my darling little Sai." She pinched her boyfriend's cheek before tugging on his hand and waltzing off into the dancing crowd. Shikamaru sighed and went to take a seat. He had only agreed to go to the damn disco because he owed Ino a favour.

Most of the group were seated around the table and almost all the efforts that people made to engage him in conversation were shot down. Eventually, Kiba went to try find a girl to dance with, and Tenten had boldly grabbed Neji by the collar and dragged him into the crowd. Over the next ten minutes, Sakura and Sasuke left together, Naruto asked a blushing Hinata to dance with him and Chōji and Karui both suspiciously went to get drinks at the same time.

"I take it you don't want to be here?" Shikamaru asked the blonde girl who remained. He faintly recognised her from one of Ino's recent parties, but he hadn't spoken to her before. She nodded and kept her head down, a slight frown creased upon her soft features.

She had tanned skin, not typical of someone from Konoha. As well as that, the way she styled her hair was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

"Are you from around here?" He asked, unwilling to leave a gaping silence between himself and the stranger.

She shook her head.

"What's your name again?" He remembered her name full well, but he wanted to hear her voice.

She raised her head and looked at him, clearly aggravated.

"Temari,"

There was a slight lilt in how she pronounced the 'r', and she pronounced the word gently, almost shyly-as though she were afraid to say it wrong. He knew instantly that her accent was Sunan.

"You must be the exchange student Ino was telling me about," he realised out loud. She nodded, looking a bit annoyed.

"You can talk you know, I don't mind the accent."

She sighed and leaned over the table.

"It isn't the accent that bothers me," she sighed, her fluency was quite good. Only the emphasis was really noticeable, but it was nice.

"What bothers you then?"

"The words." She shrugged. "I cannot express myself anywhere near as well in this language. I don't have a wide..." She rotated her wrist as she thought of the word she wanted to use. "Vocabulary," she said eventually.

"Talking is the best way to improve that."

He could tell that she saw the truth behind his words, but she said nothing.

He stood up to go to the toilet. "I'm afraid I have to leave for a moment. Will you excuse me?"

He'd been as polite as possible, but she looked up with an amused expression.

"Are you _really_ afraid?" She asked. He was confused for a moment before realisation dawned on him.

"It's an expression. A figure of speech, if you like."

"I don't like at all." She frowned. "It's confusing."

He sighed and sat back down. The toilet could wait.

"If someone says that they're 'afraid' it can sometimes mean that they 'regret to say' something. It's strange, but all languages are."

She nodded slowly and shut her eyes for a moment.

"Alright. I think I understend." Temari winced "Understand." She corrected.

He left to go to the toilet, but upon returning he found that his seat had been taken by a fair haired man who looked a little bit disgruntled.

"-That isn't what I meant-"

"So why could you not have simply said what you meant?" Temari snapped.

The man rolled his eyes as Shikamaru reached them.

"Is there a problem?" Shikamaru asked, placing a hand on the back of Temari's chair.

"No. None." The man cleared his throat and left, leaving Shikamaru's seat empty for him to claim once again.

"Was it meant to be a compliment?" Temari said, more to herself than anyone else.

"What did he say?"

"Well first, he called my a baby girl. That is offensive, I look like a woman, do I not?"

Shikamaru did his best to keep his eyes on hers as he nodded and she continued.

"And then he said he would show me a 'good, fun time', but when I asked him what kind of fun he meant, he did this:" Temari brought both her hands up and made a ring shape with the thumb and index of her right hand, putting her other index through it. Shikamaru did his best not to splutter or laugh at her naïveté.

"So _then_ ," she continued, clueless to the fact that the people around her were chuckling lightly. "I asked if he meant archery. He said no. I asked if he meant darts. He laughed and said no. And then I got annoyed he was not telling me what he meaned."

"Meant" Shikamaru corrected.

"Meant. And then... Well you showed up."

He nodded and she huffed, glaring into the bottom of her glass.

"What kind of fun did he meant?" She asked curiously.

"Mean." Shikamaru corrected, in hopes to avoid the question.

"What kind of fun did he mean?"

Damn.

"Er. Well..."

"Well? With water and a bucket?"

"Er-" he was tempted to say 'in a way' but he knew that she wouldn't get the joke so he just took a deep breath and said "no. Sex."

"...sex?" She blushed and looked away "Oh."

"Yeah. Some people like that really exist."

She shrugged. "He mustn't have mean it in a bad way."

"Meant," Shikamaru corrected with a lopsided grin which she returned, much to his surprise.

"Meant." She repeated with a nod of confirmation.

He got to his feet as the song changed and held his hand out to her.

"May I have this dance?" He asked, surprising himself with his own initiative.

She gave him a confused look. "Have a dance? How do you give a dance?" She said, but placed her hand in his nonetheless.

"It means, will you dance with me?"

She laughed. "Why do you have to use such pretty words when you could just ask the question?"

"Pretty words sound nicer."

"Ah. Yes. I'll dance with you then."

He led her out to where the others were swaying and spinning and placed his hands on her waist as she wound her own around his neck.

"I'm _afraid_ I don't know how to dance very well," she said with a wry smile, clearly pleased that she had managed to use the expression that she'd just learnt.

"Me neither." He realised, horrified.

She laughed and stepped in a little closer to him, "We can fuck up together then."

He laughed and looked back down at her.

"Sounds like a plan."

Their dancing wasn't exceptional, but six songs later, they were still in each other's arms. He was glad he came, not that he'd ever admit it to Ino.

* * *

 **A/N: LAST DAY TOMORROW T-T... For anyone who doesn't already know, English isn't my first language, and the whole "I'm afraid" expression was a concept I could never wrap my head around as I started learning it. I think I cope quite well though!**

 **Please follow fave or review (or all of them!)**

 **~Leeeeee**


	30. Witness

**Witness**

It was a beautiful thing to witness.

It was worth the hours of walking and bickering and numb legs.

The group of six were seated around the campfire which they'd methodically set up in a forest clearing.

One person was absent, having gone ahead to scout a mile radius before they settled down for the night as Ino and Samui pitched tents, Kiba bandaged up his leg which he'd injured whilst gathering firewood and Shikamaru napped next to Akamaru.

There was a slight tension amongst those who were still awake-Temari had promised to be back over half an hour ago, and there was still no sign of her. Akamaru was drained from being worked so hard during their mission that day so he couldn't be sent to find her, and Kiba was too injured himself. Sending anyone else wouldn't be prudent, given the situation.

A distant breeze could be heard from far away, instantly waking Shikamaru who stood the moment his eyes adjusted to the fire light.

"Where's Temari?" He asked, glancing around at everyone.

"She hasn't come back yet."

He glanced at the sky and quickly located the north star- it took him moments to make the calculations.

"She's been gone for over two hours." He began gathering his things when he felt a strong hand on his shoulder.

"Don't leave." Samui said. "I'm the group leader for this mission, and I'm telling you now: She'll be fine."

Shikamaru considered going against her orders but decided against it. He was only there to advise, after all.

He sat back down, his frown more obvious than before. Ino took a seat beside him and rubbed his shoulder in a comforting manner.

"She'll be alright. You know her well enough to know that." He nodded and relaxed a little.

"I'll take first watch." He said as sleeping bags were rolled out and hand warmers were shared around.

As the others drifted off to sleep, Shikamaru grew more and more restless, twitching at every little sound and standing at every gust of wind.

Ino watched him as she pretended to sleep, she watched as he anxiously paced the fireside and nervously ran his fingers through his hair, constantly observing the clearing for any sign of their teammate.

She thought that he was about to leave at one point, but he obviously changed his mind after looking at all of the people that would be left defenceless if he did.

Over an hour had passed until a snap of twigs could be heard. Shikamaru instantly stood up and drew out a kunai, only to find that the figure walking towards their shabby campsite was Temari. The weapon was immediately dropped to the ground as she stepped closer to him.

Shikamaru had his back to Ino, so she couldn't make out what his face looked like, but as Temari stepped into the light, she saw the girl's face.

Temari's kimono was ripped at the shoulder and some blood had dried over it. Ino concealed a wince as she realised that _she_ would be the one who would have to patch her up.

Her lip was bleeding and swollen, and her left eye was rimmed with a dark bruise.

"Hey," she said in a hushed tone. "Sorry I took so long, I er-ran into some trouble."

Shikamaru said nothing, and Ino wanted nothing more than to push him into Temari's arms. The two of them had been driving her mad with all the dancing around each other that they did, constantly denying the _obvious_ fact that they were absolutely crazy for each other.

"Lazy Ass, what is it?"

She saw Shikamaru shake his head before stepping close to the Sunan and wrapping his arms around her.

"I was so worried." He said, possibly a little louder than he'd intended. "God, are you alright?"

"I'm alive, aren't I?" Temari said softly.

"Thank god."

He let her go and swept some of her hair out of her face. "Will I wake Ino up or...?"

Temari shook her head, "let her sleep. She's probably drained from patching Kiba up."

"But if it gets infecte-"

"It's fine. I'll deal with it tomorrow."

He nodded and sat back down to reach for his bag and take out a water skin.

"Thanks." Temari mumbled as he extended his arm to offer it to her. She settled down beside him, their shoulders almost touching. Almost.

"Who was it?"

"Some bandits. Twelve in total plus two rogue nins that were travelling with them." She sighed. "The bandits were easy enough to just scare off, but one of the ninjas jumped me. I had to kill the two rogues, but I let the others off with a warning they won't forget."

They fell silent as they watched the fire crackle and splutter in the dark and orange lights danced upon their faces. Ino silently praised Shikamaru's control, because she could practically feel his heartbeat across the ground, and if she'd been in his position, she'd have at least wrapped her arm around Temari's shoulder.

"I was so worried." Shikamaru said again.

"Don't worry about me," Temari smiled, glancing at the shadow-manipulator from the corner of her eye.

"Given the choice, I wouldn't have." He mumbled.

"I know."

She rested her head against his shoulder and scooted in a little closer. Just a little. His arm wrapped itself around her waist and his head rested on hers.

There was no magic. Nothing amazing or supernatural. But as Shikamaru turned his face slightly and lifted the blonde's chin to meet her eyes, Ino saw a thousand emotions flitting across her friend's teal irises before the dark haired boy brought her face closer and kissed her gently.

That was a truly beautiful thing to witness.

* * *

 **A/N: DONE! The end!**

 **I obviously HAD to end it with a lil bit of Ino, y'all know how much I love her!**

 **Thankyou all so so SO much for all the reviews, I almost got to 100 in just thirty days, and that is awesome! I might do another challenge like this at some point in the future, but we'll see!**

 **Please follow/fave /review!**

 **~ Lee (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ**


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